Photos

Local farms produce a large range of fruits and vegetables from corn to pumpkins, melons, mangoes, eggplant, chilli and macadamia nuts.

Bowen also contributes another $278 million a year to the state economy through sugar cane, coffee, cereal, pasture and hay.

The combined cane growing harvest between the three regions of Burdekin, Proserpine and Mackay is estimated to be around $850 million a year.

It comes as grocery giant Woolworths yesterday warned consumers that grocery bills would rise as a result of the nation's growing energy crisis.

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Debbie heads inland.

Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci's said managing the supermarket business's spiralling energy costs is like "trying to outrun a bear", and warned consumers will pay more for groceries as a result, The Australian reports today.

His comments to The Australian's and Visy's Global Food Forum in Melbourne yesterday were backed by the ­nation's biggest fruit and vegetable producer, Costa Group, and the largest producer of poultry, Inghams Enterprises.

Mr Banducci said the retailing giant was installing more energy-efficient lighting and refrigeration in its stores but soaring consumer demand for more ready-made chilled food products would mean energy cost increases would more than outweigh savings.

"We manage what we can manage with energy efficiency," he said. "But given the cost increases that are coming through right now, we are trying to outrun a bear, but I am not sure we can.

"We will have to, in some way, very cautiously and carefully, pass those through to our customers, unfortunately.